Pinealon

Pinealon is a synthetic tripeptide from the Khavinson bioregulator series with the sequence Glu-Asp-Arg (EDR; formula C15H26N6O8, molecular weight 418.40 g/mol, CAS 175175-23-2). It pairs two acidic residues with a C-terminal arginine. Fluorescence-labeled Pinealon has been observed in the cytoplasm, nucleus and nucleolus of cultured HeLa cells, and the peptide is among the short peptides this research group has studied for direct interactions with DNA.

Pinealon in the research literature

In cerebellar granule cells, neutrophils and PC12 cells exposed to oxidative stress, Pinealon was reported to limit reactive oxygen species accumulation and necrotic cell death, alongside delayed ERK1/2 activation and changes in cell division. In late-passage cultures of brain cortex cells, EDR was reported to increase serotonin expression, and docking modeled its binding to a CCTGCC sequence in the tryptophan hydroxylase gene.

Biophysical studies using spectroscopy, NMR, viscometry and molecular dynamics described EDR partly entering the DNA major groove and contacting guanine N7 and O6 atoms, an interaction promoted by Mg2+ ions. Fluorescence-quenching work reported preferential binding to CAG-containing deoxyribooligonucleotides.